Tax-free Internet sales cost local economies millions, say UAB p

Posted: Dec 23, 2011 2:45 PM EST Updated: Dec 25, 2011 8:00 AM EST


Tax-free Internet sales have cost the United States an estimated $10 billion in 2011, and one UAB professor says the real victim in this situation isn't the IRS.

"These are taxes owed to municipalities, counties and states, which consumers are obliged to report and remit on their state income-tax returns," said Robert Robicheaux, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Marketing, Industrial Distribution and Economics department in the UAB School of Business. "This problem demands immediate attention nationwide because the share of Internet retail sales is growing at such a breakneck pace that the amount of lost tax revenue will be doubled by the end of the decade."

In Alabama, the estimated loss per person is about $30. But when you multiple that by 4.7 million residents, the total loss reaches $141 million.


Tax-free Internet sales cost local economies millions, say UAB p